Colorado Matters

Some second homeowners have decided to live in their mountain homes full-time and that's having an impact on local schools. Also, how one school is trying to keep the coronavirus at bay. Then, what it's like to get married in a pandemic. And, Denver native DJ Cavem uses hip-hop to plant seeds. His latest release comes with arugula, beet, and kale seeds.

The number of Colorado teens who vape hasn’t budged in the last couple of years despite efforts to curb the high rate. Then, Denverite’s Donna Bryson on the encampment sweep at a local middle school. Later, a telephone company created to keep farmers in touch celebrates 100 years. And, a new novel explores the cracks in the justice system for Indigenous people.

What the newly passed Great American Outdoors Act means for Colorado’s open space and cities. Then, Denver changes its approach to the geese that fills its parks. Later, a Hiroshima survivor remembers the attack 75 years ago. Finally, a Boulder emergency physician on his new book, “Fragile: Beauty In Chaos, Grace in Tragedy, And the Hope That Lives In Between.”

The side gigs author Kali Fajardo-Anstine once used to supplement her book income are gone.

Then, pregnancy can be lonely in the age of COVID. And, the tiny town of Marble has a trove of famed, well, marble. Also, two green energy companies win international recognition.

A Colorado chemist explains the science behind mounting evidence that COVID-19 lingers in the air and what that can teach us about how to limit transmission. Then, as local restaurants shutter, we'll crack open a cookbook from the early 80s. Plus, an outpouring for a black business owner in Denver who now has shoes to repair and money in his pocket.

NASA’s latest Mars mission has a rover and a drone helicopter. Then, on COVID’s frontlines in a Grand Junction hospital. Plus, a parent copes with Denver’s latest school delay. And, the debate over Native American imagery in sports. Also, a chemical hotspot near an oil and gas refinery. Finally, a horse trainer’s story in “Half Broke.”

Today, we talk with Raymon Doane, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in Colorado. The Libertarian Party is the largest of the minor parties in Colorado. Also, a Colorado Springs coal plant is shifting toward renewable energy. Then, Colorado's new state historian. And, working to "Take Back What Was Stolen" from Olympian Jim Thorpe.

The pandemic’s toll on kids’ mental health, and what will happen when school begins. Then, key figures have left Colorado’s health department, hurting virus response efforts. Also, Colorado’s congressional delegation on new priorities for virus relief. Plus, a father’s 60-foot tribute to his daughter. And, naturalization ceremonies are different now.

Colorado Matters presents a special that explores the challenges COVID-19 poses for the return to school. We’ll get insight from parents and teachers who are ready to return to the classroom and from those who aren’t. We’ll hear the views of a leading pediatrician and Colorado's commissioner of education. And find out what one school district just decided.

Colorado's investing in new tests designed to track the novel coronavirus more quickly through wastewater. Plus, the late Rep. John Lewis’ reflections on civil rights at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Then, the Underground Music Showcase re-envisions itself in the pandemic. And meet Carla Huiracocha, the singer for Neoma, who’ll be performing.